The Crown Heights killing: The tragedy of Saheed Vassell

Based on what we know so far, the fatal shooting by four cops of Saheed Vassell in Crown Heights Wednesday appears to be the tragic but reasonable split-second reaction of police to a man they had real cause to believe was an armed threat.

But the picture painted has been stitched together via video snapshots and 911 calls selectively released by the NYPD. We must see more and know more, via unedited video footage from more angles, and through deliberate police and witness interviews by the state attorney general.

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Under rules laid out in a 2015 executive order, the case has already been handed over to the AG, and an investigation is rightly underway.

Vassell, 34 years old and described by those who knew him as bipolar but not prone to violence, died in a hail of gunfire after aiming at cops a metal pipe that they took to be a gun.

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They were far from the only ones to make the mistake. Three 911 calls had reported a man menacing passersby with what looked to be a silver firearm. Footage from local surveillance cameras released Thursday afternoon by the NYPD shows Vassell running around, pointing the pipe into the faces and chests of pedestrians. Chilling, scary stuff.

(One hopes the department will be as forthcoming if and when the initial images from a future incident reflect less favorably on officers.)

Four cops — three plainclothes, one in uniform — rushed to the scene. Claiming Vassell went into a "shooting stance" — consistent with what a released freeze-frame of video reveals — they fired 10 times.

If there is more video, particularly of the critical seconds between when cops exit their vehicle and pull the trigger, that must soon see the light of day.

It is also important to determine whether anyone gave Vassell an opportunity to put down his weapon. Important, though not dispositive. If Vassell seemed poised to fire at them from the moment they exited the car , a call of "police!" or an order to drop the weapon may have been neither necessary nor appropriate.

To that point, Commissioner Jimmy O'Neill should be forthcoming with the public about his department's standards for using deadly force when confronting an individual who appears to be armed. When are officers expected to give a warning? When should they try to deescalate, especially when they have reason to believe an individual might be emotionally disturbed? When is shooting to kill considered justifiable?